Benton County Democrats donate 900 copies to students

Davi Richards drove all over Benton County on Wednesday bringing the law of the land - the Constitution - to local high school seniors.

Working on behalf of Benton County Democrats on Constitution Day, Richards packed 900 copies of the document (which also included the Declaration of Independence) into her station wagon and dropped off boxes of the 3-inch-by-6-inch, 45-page booklets.

"There are other copies you can get, but we really like this little one," she said. "It's compact enough to fit in your pocket - and it's red, white and blue."

Constitution Day is celebrated on Sept. 17, the anniversary of the day the framers signed the document.

"They've gotten to be really popular," Richards said. "I usually get them out in August, but I've had teachers calling me for them. My neighbor's daughter got them and was handing them out to her friends."

Local Democrats have spent about $2,000 on the copies of the government document for the last four years as a way to inform students in government classes and introduce them to the party.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, a Democrat who represents Oregon's 4th District in Congress, has donated one box to the effort for each of the past two years.

Richards said she spent about 10 hours carefully affixing a small sticker to the back of each copy announcing who had paid for the booklet.

"This might be someone's first contact with the Democratic Party," she said. "I want it to be perfect."

CONSTITUTION DAY FACTS

• The U.S. Constitution has 4,400 words. It is the oldest and shortest written constitution of any major government in the world.

• The Constitution was "penned" by Jacob Shallus, a Pennsylvania General Assembly clerk, for $30 ($661 today)

• Patrick Henry was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, but declined, because he "smelt a rat."

• The word "democracy" does not appear once in the Constitution.

• When it came time for the states to ratify the Constitution, the lack of any bill of rights was the primary sticking point.

Source: Constitutionfacts.com

Matt Neznanski can be reached at 758-9518 or matt.neznanski@lee.net.